Shane Gibson Named to All-Northeast Conference First Team

FAIRFIELD, CT (February 28, 2012) - Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson (Killingly, CT) was named to the 2012 All-Northeast Conference first team on Tuesday after helping leading the league in scoring and helping the Pioneers get back to the NEC Tournament this year. Gibson follows up his All-NEC second team nod a year ago with first team honors.

"A well deserved award," commented SHU head coach Dave Bike. "Shane had a heck of a season. Behind every solid player there is a driving force. I think Shane has that in him. He wants to be good at what he does. After last year we asked the guys to project what they would project for themselves for this season. He had high expectations for himself and he met every one of them."

Gibson became one of the top offensive forces in the NEC this season, leading the league in scoring at 22.0 points per game, a mark that has him ranked fourth nationally. He was even better in league play, where he put up 24.9 ppg, the highest scoring average by an NEC player in 13 years.

He posted a league-best 21 games of 20 or more points - the most by an NEC player since Saint Francis (PA)'s Darshan Luckey had 22 in 2002-03 - and tied for the conference lead with four 30+ point outings. His 41 points against Mount St. Mary's on January 28th is the NEC single-game season-high in 2011-12. In three years, Gibson has accumulated 1,431 points, and his 683 points is a Sacred Heart Division I record as he heads into the postseason 11th on the NEC all-time list. He is a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year award and was tabbed on three occasions as the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week.

Gibson and the Pioneers roll into NEC Tournament play as the #8 seed and will face LIU Brooklyn on Thursday night at 7 pm.